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Travels - Week 3 Hi All! Wednesday starts with a ferry ride, so for aqua-phobic me - not what I would have planned. However the sea was smooth as glass and our hydrofoil was new and excellent, though I only saw the bar! We cruised into Tallinn harbour in Estonia (Eesti to the Estonians) at about 7 pm and then rushed straight for our bus to Tartu. The bus trip let me see a lot of Estonia. In the north it is very flat and very rural. We arrived at about 10 pm in Tartu and were met by Ann Villems who brought us back for a light supper and wine before bed. The Villems are fantastic people and we have stayed with them all week. That night we talked and they spoke in English as much as they could (and as even the children are tri-lingual that was a lot!) and would translate for us if they missed a couple of words. It has been this way all week and I am beginning to regret that we must move on. The next day, after sleeping as well as I can in my own bed at home, Ann took us to Tartu University and proudly showed us her new office and the new building from the roof of which you can see why people say Tartu is a forest rather than a city. She then took us to town showing us the sights and explaining the history of the town. We met Iva, the executive director of the 'Head Start' programme here in Estonia, at a lovely Italian restaurant and I tasted my first Estonian Beer - heaven! Iva then took us around to see Tartu. It is small, but I prefer the term intimate, here and we where not shown monuments first, but 'Soup Town' a run down part of the city where, we were told, only the very old, poor students, criminals and 'losers' live. But Iva showed us this with pride, it was where he lived when he met his wife and studied. Now the young people are moving back here, like Newtown in Sydney (sort of!) in that it is a working class, almost slum-like, suburb that has a great sense of community and a feeling of comfort and security and is beginning to have new life breathed into it. We sat in the sun drank some more beer and talked about the similarities and differences between our countries, especially the way we handle alcohol sales. Here the debate is wether or not alcohol should be sold at petrol stations! We then wandered back toward the busses to get back to the Villems Family home. That night Mum and I were the guests of honour at dinner and we were joined by Iva, his wife and Anzori and were given apologies from many others. We have arrived you see at the busiest time of year for academics - when all the marking is due and everyone we have met so far has been an academic. We are in a University town! Dinner was wonderful and again everything we didn't understand was translated for us. The Estonians have made me feel very welcome and I believe shown us so much of the real Estonia. We made plans that night to go on ancient pagan rituals with Anzuri on the eve of midsummer (though I had become rather intoxicated by this point and would have agreed to anything!) and as thanks I promised to cook for the family the next night. Friday morning came and I tried to leave with Mum to go into town and do some shopping, it was only then that I discovered that my raincoat did not work to keep one dry, but rather channelled water to uncomfortable spots all over the body! I went home and waited for the skies to clear! An hour or so later I had Mimo (or Miriam in 'international' terms) Ann's granddaughter show me the bus timetable and I made my way to town. I wandered the town and found a nice restaurant/bar to kill some time and try all the beers that Anzuri had recommended for me the night before. Once I had consumed 3 litres of beer I made my way to the shopping centre to buy supplies. This is the second country I have tried to shop in without any understanding of the language (of course I taught myself 'hello' and 'thanks' in Estonian), and it is really hard! Luckily the people in the store helped me and I managed to buy everything I needed as well as some more beer and my favourite 'Gin - Long Drink' that came in a soft drink bottle but is almost 6% alcohol! I cooked a good meal of my classics - Potato and Leek Soup to start (even the kids had seconds which is apparently unheard of!), Lemon and Orange Chicken, Garlic Mushrooms and Couscous and Dark Chocolate Tart to finish. I think it went down OK. It was just my way to say 'thankyou' for the hospitality I have felt since I got here. The next day was Midsummer Eve, and as promised we were picked up and driven into Southern Estonia by some friends of Anzuri's, we talked all the way, though I got a little passionate about my personal politics, which is beginning to upset Mum I feel. The boys didn't seem to mind and listened and questioned where these opinions came from. We walked through the idyllic countryside to a rural paradise from where we made our way to the first spring and the rituals began. I didn't really understand them, but the reverence was church-like and the passion infectious. Mum had to return to the farmhouse as the next spring was too difficult for her (and almost for me) to get to. We all made our way back to the farmhouse and had a light supper, then off for the next ritual - stone. Again the rituals went a little over my head but at the stone I could actually feel something like energy that made my head swim. The last ritual meant another change of locale, to a summerhouse owned by an advisor to the Prime Minister here (I feel if I stay another week here I will meet the whole parliament!). Again the setting was idyllic and the ritual - 'Black' sauna. My first time naked with company in a sauna but it felt very natural and was really, really good with a couple of beers! We then had a meal of freshly salted salmon, meats and bread and of to conclude the rituals with a bonfire made of nine types of wood. I sat there in wonder trying to remember the last bonfire I had even seen! I sat and talked to a lovely lady, whose husband became a little jealous I think (maybe it would have calmed him if I had said I was more interested in him than in her!). This last ritual seemed to involve a lot of vodka that at last I understood, but was dragged away before I could get embarrassing. I awoke very late the next day and was very slow to get started. We drove back stopping to see some Anzuri's friends and had lunch at the Somerpau, a neo-romantic castle that is being restored slowly into its former glory. I plan to travel back to see it when the work is completed next year. The next day I travelled to Tallinn on my own to see the 'Old Town' of which I had heard so much but was bitterly disappointed. The old town is well preserved but commercial and a little tacky and expensive. Also a few big cruise ships where in and there were hundreds of tourists and tour groups. I got off the main strip as soon as I could and found a gay bar (obviously my gaydar is working for once!) but decided I should eat. I found an excellent restaurant and ate in the cellar away from the crowds. The seating host made me very comfortable and I ate some 'classic' Estonian cuisine, got slightly drunk and had another go at exploring the town. I failed again and made my way back to 'X Baar' to sample 'family' life in Estonia. X Baar was full of lesbians, but as I say birds of a feather (even if that means actual 'birds'!), drank a couple more litres of beer and went to get more to eat. Back to the bar then off home. The bus ride for me took about 2 minutes, that is, I fell asleep quickly and only awoke when we pulled into Tartu. I picked up some supplies at the nearest petrol station and made my way back to the Villems' where a BBQ was in progress with a bonfire and more beer. I regaled them with my days adventure and disappointment but made it obvious (I hope!) how happy I was to back in Tartu. Today, my last day here as we leave in the morning for Riga in Latvia at 6 am, I have tried to be domestic - catch up in some washing and writing - and trying to not become sad about leaving. Now I wonder what next week will bring! |
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